"I am comfortable with going after the giants... however we should do so with caution. We were very fortunate... and skilled to defeat them easily the first time we encountered them, but if this group is more skilled and powerful, we could get in over our heads. I for one tend to err in the favor of caution, and would like to get all the additional information we can before acting rashly".
"It seems to me that the Giants weren't really interested in killing, just acquiring something. After they got what they wanted they just left, when they could have easily overwhelmed us at that time. They have no compassion for their minions, and simply used them as a distraction to keep us from interfering with their work."
"I for one would be interested in knowing what their end game is before confronting them".
The five of you form up to head off in pursuit of the two fire giants. Coronei elects to remain, strengthening the town guard and providing tactical advice to the leaders as to how to bolster the town’s defences. The northern part of Roderic’s Cove is a hive of activity as the industrious locals begin the work of tearing down the ruins and clearing the way to rebuild, eager to erase any sign of the brutal attack on their homes.
As you prepare to leave, a small delegation of the town’s leaders approach you with some gifts in appreciation of your efforts.
“Thank you all for your stalwart defence of our town,” smiles the Captain as he formally farewells the party. “From what I hear it’s thanks to you I have any kind of home to return to. The Overlord doesn’t leave us much we can offer in the way of reward, but some of the town elders have got together. Please accept these with our thanks.”
“It’s not much,” announces the blacksmith Ghelryn Foehammer gruffly as he hands over three more healing potions to the party stores. “But I’ve rarely fought beside finer folk. And I’m willing to bet you’ll be needing these soon enough. The apothecary has used all they have on the town guards.”
“The rest of us have pooled what we can,” says Narth Tezrin, proprietor of the Lion’s Share Trading company. “We currently have a shipment from the Coster Trading Company passing through with fine weapons for sale in Magnimar. Between us we could afford these two pieces for you, with our gratitude. If the tales are true, you’ll need more than ordinary steel fighting true giants and their minions.” With some gravity, he unwraps the town’s reward, a magical shortsword and a magical handaxe.
“The great house of Uldinath also has a gift to bestow,” announces Harriet, the weaponsmith who outfitted Silvio yesterday. Stepping forward with some ceremony as Ghelryn rolls his eyes behind her. “It’s not enchanted, but it may as well be. I present the finest blade my establishment has ever produced, for the finest swordsman to ever grace us with his custom!” with a bow and a flourish, she presents Silvio with a finely fashioned rapier, together with a stylishly decorated scabbard, proudly bearing the Uldinath family crest.
“Good luck in your hunting, friends,” finishes the Captain once the rewards are handed over. “We’ll pray for your success. Return here any time you need a welcoming place to stay.”
Kraz accepts the gifts with a smile. "We were just glad we came when we did. We almost followed another line. we will do our best to figure out what the giants are up to and make them pay for the murders of your people and the other farmers.. I would suggest yall send someone to Riddleport to try and get more help out here. The COnsortium or something like that helped Elbar's Bluff.. Perhaps they can help here as well."
“The great house of Uldinath also has a gift to bestow,” announces Harriet, the weaponsmith who outfitted Silvio yesterday. Stepping forward with some ceremony as Ghelryn rolls his eyes behind her. “It’s not enchanted, but it may as well be. I present the finest blade my establishment...
Silvio accepts the rapier with a graceful bow. "It is a great honor for Silvio to wield such exquisite craftmanship! Silvio promises that it will always be used to right wrongs and balance the scales of justice when they are offset by foul actions of evil creatures", the dashing swordsman proudly proclaims.
Dorin's eyes light up at the sight of the hand axe, and he carefully takes it and begins to examine the craftsmanship.
Aye, thanks fer the gifts. These will serve us well in our efforts.
Pik smiles as the others take the weapons, Well now, we're certainly more prepared than we were before! The half-elf tosses his pack over his shoulder and looks up at the sky. Looks like it'll be a fine day for a walk.
You move through peaceful, although deserted farmland as the group heads out away from the town. When you do encounter homesteads they are closed up and secured, almost all of the outlying families having fled to Roderic's Cove for shelter.
The giant tracks are easy for anyone to follow, heading straight for the Curchain hills, where the Stony Mountains meet the Storval Rise. Dorin's more experienced eye reveals that the giants are travelling very slowly, obviously heavily encumbered by the metal object they dug up. He is confident the party is gaining on them, although given the headstart it is likely to take a couple of days before you catch them.
The brilliant spring day is perfect travelling weather and you make good ground. As the light begins to fade and evening looms, you see signs of a rudimentary camp where the two fire giants rested last night. Given Dorin's estimate of your greater speed and the fact it took you most of a day to reach here, it's obvious the giants pushed hard through the night, only resting when they were exhausted.
"By the look of things they only rested for a few hours before pushing on. It's obvious they want to get back asap. We should push on through the night and try and catch them.. Me and Dorin can lead the rest of you so we don't have to use torches.."
Aye, I agree.
Dorin waits for the others to agree or not.
Survival
Very familiar with the mountain terrain, Rath is able to help keep the group moving without slowing their pace.
As a Natural Explorer, Dorin is also cetain that the party will not be lost and he knows yhe exact number of the giants they track and how long ago they passed.
Silvio listens to Kraz as he examines the camp site and nods in approval, liking what he hears.”No doubt that these marauders feel the strain of being pursued by Silvio Callgari Pazzi and his good friends”, he states joyfully. ”Silvio says that we give these giants something to fear and press on!”
Closing in on your prey, you press on into the night. Silvio and Pik follow at the rear of the party as the three members of your group more comfortable in the wilds lead the way.
Dorin has no difficulty following the trail of the giants, even as their path takes them into the foothills and begins heading up into the mountains. As the way becomes more wild and unpredictable, Rath is able to assist the party through the more difficult terrain and Dorin is confident you are gaining on them rapidly.
Shortly after midnight, after having hiked for twelve hours, you reach a decent place to take shelter. Presuming the giants don't reach their destination tomorrow, Dorin is confident you will catch them if you rest now. If you force yourselves on through the night, he thinks you'll probably come across their next campsite close to dawn.
Piks runs his hand through his hair as he looks at the hill before them with a sigh. Just keeps going up, does it? This isn't my area of expertise. He scrunches his nose as he adjusts his pack and kicks his boot toe first into the ground. Dorin? Rath? What do you think? Can we catch them, or should we try to rest a bit?
"Their tired as well and are carrying whatever that thing is.. Let's take a small rest so we can actually fight when we catch them.."
I hate,t'do it, but, aye, a short rest now. We'll still be catchin' the buggers.
Works for me, the half-elf says as he sits with a thud. After a few moments of knocking his boots against the stony ground, he leans back and sighs.
Silvio finds a plateau to stand on while surveing the horizon, looking important as he does so. Beads of sweat glisten in the star light to help sell the image of rugged yet sophisticated athleticism. "Yes, let us rest for tomorrow we stop those giants!", he says doing his best not to sound winded. While the nobleman is in rather good shape this is the longest trek he has made in a long time.
Between them, Dorin and Rath manage to find a decently hidden hollow under a protected overhang. It allows you to start a fire with little chance of it being seen and you spend a surprisingly comfortable few hours getting what sleep you can. After a few hours, you are all tired but ready to press on without suffering ill effects. Eager to catch your quarry, you resume your search before dawn, Dorin growing ever more confident that you will be upon the giants sometime during the day.
As day breaks, it brings a shift to more inclement weather, a strong, icy wind blowing down from the mountains and you find yourselves trudging through sleet and occasional hail. As you have been making such rapid progress, Dorin is still able to follow the signs of the giants’ passing without difficulty. However, distant visibility is poor given the weather and terrain and if you face any delays, it is likely the tracks will soon be obliterated.
Your unpleasant trek leads you ever deeper into the mountains, walking into the wind and sleet as your small party picks its way through the wilderness. Around lunchtime, you come across the place the giants must have rested last night. It seems they slept longer than you, perhaps waiting for the weather to clear before heading out. A cursory search of their campsite shows the two of them are still alone and still burdened by their large, heavy package. You’ve made good progress and are likely an hour or even less behind them.
Let's stick together. I think, being giants, we'll hear them before we see them anyway. Rath and I will take the rear, He finishes with a wink.
"Quite some weather we are having. Silvio can't imagine that cold winds and hail are ideal for fire giants", Silvio says trying to distract from the appearent discomfort he is in due to the weather. A wiser man would make a mental note to shop for better clothes next time. Silvio on the other hand just fantazies about warmer climates.
"Good friend Dorin, you are familiar with giants, yes? What can you tell us about what to expect when we catch up with our quarry?", he asks trying to get a conversation going.
Having made a brief search of the abandoned campsite, Dorin once more picks up the trail, Kraz and Silvio joining him at the front. Rath and Pik bring up the rear. Once more walking into the strong wind and sporadic rain, you are all soaked through. You nonetheless make good time and after two more hours, Dorin is sure you are about to reach your quarry.
All of you remain focussed when you finally catch the two fire giant raiders, although Pik is the first to spot them. They come into view around a hundred foot ahead, still burdened by the gigantic sheet slung between them as they trudge ever forward into the mountains. They seem to be struggling, even between the two of them, their burden is clearly extremely heavy and cumbersome and the poor conditions have forced them to slow down even further.
Tactically, the current situation is reasonably uncomplicated. They are a hundred feet further along a fifteen foot wide ledge which runs up the mountain, disappearing into the mist and rain a few hundred feet further on. To your left there is a steep dropoff. Although it isn’t a true cliff, anyone who falls down there would take a little damage and a long time to climb back up. The mountainside to the right is climbable, but exposed. At this stage the giants are focussed on their burden and don’t appear to have noticed you as they walk, one shuffling backwards along the ledge as its companion looks ahead for any danger.
Dorin dashes to close the distance as he draws his Warhammer.
Gimme' some cover, eh boys.
Pik shrugs, Guess we're doing this. He steps forward to touch Silvio's shoulder. Go get 'em.
Kraz draws his greatsword and moves up with Dorin. He does not outpace the dwarf though as he has no want to be in melee alone with two fire giants..
He remains quite, but his face tells you that his rage is building to a boiling point.
The giants are both dressed in plate mail and furs. Besides the enormous, makeshift sling between them, they each carry a large pack strapped to their back. They appear dressed and well equipped for mountain travel. Each of them also has a huge greatsword within easy reach. They carry no missile weapons and there aren't that many rocks or boulders around here.
Monsters:
As the giants continue their hard slog deeper into the mountains, Dorin breaks into a run, halving the distance between you before either of the giants notices. Kraz lopes along beside the dwarf, matching his pace easily.
Moving up behind the lead three, Pik casts his spell and Silvio fades from view.
Dual blades in hand and cloaked by Pik's magic, Silvio keeps close to the hillside as he advances on the two fire giants.
Silvio invisibly slips passed Dorin and Kraz, sticking to the hill's edge as he narrows the gap to ten feet. Drawing nearer, you can see both giants are working hard, the package they have been carrying for the last two days seems close to their limit.
Realizing that most of his distance damage dealing is fire based, Rath pulls forth his trusty crossbow to make havoc with the giants.
"Might be wise to support and help heal with this battle". He mumbles to himself, as he draws aim on the closest giant.
Crossbow
bolt, piercing
Taking advantage of the weapon's long range, Rath readies his crossbow and shoots the nearest giant in the shoulder who staggers forward with a cry, more from surprise than due to any serious injury.
The rain is holding off for now so visibility is clear and footing on the trail is reasonably secure, albeit with a reasonably dangerous drop off.
If so.. Kraz enters a frenzy and charges to meet the giants..
"YOU WILL PAY FOR YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS!! RAAAAWWWRRRR!!"
Dorin moves forward 25' and dodges in anticipation of an attack as he marks the male giant as his enemy.
Pik moves forward another twenty feet while whispering magical words.
Kraz closes the distance further, outpacing Dorin as he prepares to unleash a furious assault on the lead giant.
Dorin also moves up, although more cautiously than the half-orc, prepared to dodge out of the way should the giant try and attack him.
The two giants drop their burden and reach for their swords, the female giant shouting out instructions and pointing at Rath and Pik.
The male giant draws his sword but ignores Dorin and Kraz completely, charging right through them with scarcely a thought as he makes a beeline for Pik!
As the giant draws near to Kraz, he springs his attack. Both blows strike true and the giant is cut twice. As the giant tries to knock Kraz down, he leaves himself open to a counterattack and Kraz's third blow also finds its mark, slashing the back of the giant's leg as he ploughs onwards towards Dorin and then Pik.
While sneaking up on the giants Silvio is taken slightly by surprise as his intended target grabs his sword and rushes through the ranks that he and his fellow party members have set up. Rolling with the times (and out of the way of the chargeing male giant) he dashing swordsman switches targets and sets his sights on the female giant. He hustles forward to his quarry and with a dramatic and melodic cry of ”Aha!” he thrusts his blades into the nearest reachable bodypart. ”A series of unfortunate events has set you to cross blades with the great Silvio Callgari Pazzi and his good friends! Silvio accepts your surrender”, he says and takes a few steps back to give the giant the necessary room to give up.
Despite his rage, Kraz is knocked prone.
The male giant barrels through the front ranks of the party, knocking Kraz to the ground. Dorin manages to step aside in time and retains his footing, although his attack on the receding giant fails to connect.
Following her companion's progress, the female giant is utterly unprepared as Silvio materialises before her, cutting her with both blades before slipping back to join Kraz. Far from giving up, the attack seems to infuriate the giantess who snarls wordlessly at the swordsman.
Freed from the effort of maintaining Silvio's invisibility, Pik casts a second spell, glowing motes of light forming around the male giant and trying to stick to its form. However, the enormous creature is coming on too quickly and the spell misses its target.